 |
 |
 |
|
|
Appointments for consultations & enquiries can be made at: Avon House Veterinary Surgery 19a Spital Road Maldon Essex CM9 6DY Tel: 01621 851514 Fax: 01621 850665
Black Notley Veterinary Surgery 45 Witham Road Black Notley Braintree Essex CM77 8LQ Tel: 01376 328038 Fax: 01376 341578
|
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What sort of illnesses can Homeopathy help? Q. If my pet is on medication, will this have to be stopped during treatment? A. No. Many orthodox drugs may have a suppressive effect on disease, and similarly have a suppressive effect on the patient's ability to respond to Homeopathy and Acupuncture. However, in many cases it is acceptable or even desirable to continue with medications during Complementary treatments. In many situations, such as in the case of treatment with corticosteroids, it may be dangerous to suddenly withdraw this medicine. Veterinary advice, therefore, should always be sought before reducing or withdrawing any prescribed medicine. Q. Is it expensive? A. Homeopathic remedies are, on the whole, much cheaper than equivalent drugs. However, the greatest expense is the cost of the initial consultation, which takes a much longer time than with conventional medicine. Acupuncture, similarly, takes a little longer than a conventional 10 minute consultation, and is charged accordingly, but can still work out, in the longer term, cheaper than giving lifelong prescribed drugs. Q. Is the cost of Complementary medicine covered by my Pet Insurance? A. Most, if not all, insurance companies will pay for Complementary medicine as long as it is prescribed and under the control of a qualified Vet. Q. Is Acupuncture painful? A. The majority of dogs and many cats tolerate Acupuncture very well. There is sometimes an initial discomfort when the needles are inserted, but once in place the patient will often relax or occasionally even fall asleep! However, there is a small minority of excitable or nervous dogs and cats for which Acupuncture cannot be used without prior sedation. Q. Does my pet have to be referred for Complementary medicine by my usual Vet? A. Unless your usual Veterinary practice is Black Notley Veterinary Surgery or Avon House Veterinary Surgery, you will need a referral from your Vet. This can usually be arranged by our reception staff and your Vets can fax a referral letter to us. Q. Is Homeopathy the same as Herbal medicine? A. No. Although many Homeopathic medicines are made from Herbs, many are also made from minerals such as Sulphur, Arsenic or Mercury, or have an animal derivation such as snake venoms or bee stings. The major difference in herbal medicine is that the prescriber is giving relatively large doses of the herb, whereas Homoeopathic remedies have undergone Potentisation - the series of dilutions and successions. Q. I have heard it said of Homeopathy that the patient tends to get worse before they get better. Is this true? A. No. In the vast majority of cases this does not happen - depending on what you mean by worse. In many situations, for instance, as part of the healing process, discharges may increase temporarily, but in doing so the actual health of the individual may be improving. Rarely, patients can undergo a temporary aggravation as part of the healing process, and occasionally we see a 'proving', whereby the patient can temporarily exhibit some of the same symptoms that the remedy is used to treat. However, both the above scenarios are unusual, and do not cause anything but a temporary effect. Q. How does Homeopathy work? A. This is a difficult one, as basically we do not yet know the mechanism by which Homeopathy has its effect, and it is beyond the scope of this site for an in-depth debate. However, what we do know is that the human and animal body has an amazing capacity for healing itself. We have all heard, in the human field, stories of cures way beyond what has been expected by medical advisers. Homeopathy is basically striving to maximise that healing potential that we and our pets all have in a gentle, non-invasive and safe way. Q.How does Acupuncture work? A. Again, we don't really understand the mechanism by which Acupuncture has its effect. The ancient Chinese discovered, probably by accident, the amazing healing and analgaesic benefits of Acupuncture. They then fitted this into their existing philosophy and described how life energy or 'Qi' flowed around the body in various channels or 'Meridians'. By placing needles at various points along these meridians the Qi could be stimulated or sedated in order to ease pain and promote healing. Whilst this theory allowed an explanation of the effects of Acupuncture many centuries ago, it does not fit in with our modern Western scientific knowledge of how the body works. Whilst many western Acupuncturists still use the traditional Chinese method, many have found that they can get equally good results using a more empirical approach. Speaking personally, I do not think that it matters too much how Acupuncture works as long as it does. From my own considerable experience, the fact that it does work is unquestionable.
|